Moving Beyond the Stained Glass Ceiling

2011 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 45-61 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karen A. Longman ◽  
Shawna L. Lafreniere

The Problem. While a variety of factors have historically limited access by women to top-level leadership positions across higher education, these factors become more complicated when juxtaposed with the theological commitments that influence the leadership journeys of women in these settings. The Solution. This article reviews the literature related to women in higher education leadership, with a particular focus on the state of women in leadership found in faith-based colleges and universities—as represented by the 110 member institutions of the Council for Christian Colleges & Universities (CCCU). It describes the results of in-depth research on the impact of a CCCU Women’s Leadership Development initiative, launched in 1998. Qualitative and quantitative evaluation data are discussed and implications outlined. The Stakeholders. The lessons emerging from this initiative and research can be helpful for postsecondary leaders, HRD and leadership development professionals, and all those who focus on developing women in higher education settings.

2011 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 113-128 ◽  
Author(s):  
Susan R. Madsen ◽  
Karen A. Longman ◽  
Jessica R. Daniels

The Problem.The intentional preparation of future leaders for higher education remains a critical need today in institutions across the globe. Many colleges and universities are now seeking to design programs that develop the leadership skills of faculty, staff, and administrators, and because of the shortage of women in leadership positions, special efforts need to focus on the development of women. Yet guidance and assistance are required to do so effectively and efficiently.The Solution.The purpose of this final article is to highlight a few of the particularly important findings across all articles in this Special Issue, offer some overall implications for leadership development and the HRD field, and provide tables of sample leadership programs for women in higher education at the national, state, and institutional levels.The Stakeholders.This article provides researchers and practitioners in various fields of study with implications toward more effectively developing, evaluating, researching, and implementing leadership programs for women in higher education.


2011 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 3-10 ◽  
Author(s):  
Susan R. Madsen

The Problem. Postsecondary institutions are struggling more than ever before to find qualified, effective leaders to move into key administrative positions. One reason for the continued lack of prepared leaders is that there still remain few women in higher education positioned to take on such critical roles. The Solution. This Issue overview introduces the importance of and connections among HRD, leadership development, higher education, and leadership programs for women in higher education. It highlights the Issue’s overall problem, purpose, the approach used, and its relevance to practice. Concerns around the shortage of women in leadership positions in higher education settings are introduced, and the unique features of this particular Special Issue are outlined along with a brief introduction of each article. The Stakeholders. This Issue will provide researchers and practitioners in various fields of study with frameworks to use in developing, evaluating, and researching leadership programs for women in higher education and beyond.


Author(s):  
K. M. Yount ◽  
S. Miedema ◽  
K. H. Krause ◽  
C. J. Clark ◽  
J. S. Chen ◽  
...  

In this essay, we discuss the under-representation of women in leadership positions in global health (GH) and the importance of mentorship to advance women's standing in the field. We then describe the mentorship model of GROW, Global Research for Women. We describe the theoretical origins of the model and an adapted theory of change explaining how the GROW model for mentorship advances women's careers in GH. We present testimonials from a range of mentees who participated in a pilot of the GROW model since 2015. These mentees describe the capability-enhancing benefits of their mentorship experience with GROW. Thus, preliminary findings suggest that the GROW mentorship model is a promising strategy to build women's leadership in GH. We discuss supplemental strategies under consideration and next steps to assess the impact of GROW, providing the evidence to inform best practices for curricula elsewhere to build women's leadership in GH.


Author(s):  
Nuchelle L Chance

Supported by the Crucibles of Leadership theory, this article explores how adverse experiences influence the leadership development of Black women in higher education senior leadership. I use phenomenology to explore how these leaders’ adverse lived experiences manifested as transformative crucible experiences with resilience, thus promoting leadership development. Black people have been continuously subject to adversity, while Black women have overcome the compounded adversities resulting from their intersectional identities. Reported lived adversities included physical, sexual, and verbal assault and abuse, adverse childhood experiences such as growing up in poverty, being raised by single parents, being subject to bullying, losing loved ones, discrimination, and health issues. Black women are resilient, and education has proven to be a lifeline regarding adversity, thus promoting leadership capabilities. They use adversity as fuel to overcome adverse crucible experiences, thus developing the necessary skills to prepare them for leadership. The results further reveal that Black women in higher education senior leadership experienced significant adverse experiences that manifested as crucible experiences by overcoming adversity. The findings reveal an association between their ability to develop the necessary leadership skills to advance their career and their lived adverse experiences.


2021 ◽  
pp. 002216782110030
Author(s):  
Nuchelle L. Chance

This article explores adversity and the lived experiences of Black women in higher education leadership. Using phenomenology, this study specifically explores how Black women in higher education leadership navigate the adverse challenges of intersectionality, stereotype threat, and tokenism. Black women in leadership undergo adversity including limited role models, the concrete ceiling, and the intersectionality of racism, sexism, and ageism, as well as tokenism. The current findings validate that Black women in higher education leadership experience adversity. Some of the more salient codes that emerged were discrimination such as racism, sexism, ageism, and the intersection of these challenges with identity, cultural diversity and belonging, resilience, and leadership callings. Referred to as “superwomen,” Black women are resilient and strong. The results of this study reveal that Black women use adversity as fuel, thus helping them develop the necessary skills to prepare them for leadership. Their strength through adversity is driven by the resilience that has manifested as motivation factors such as family and relationships, mentorship and sponsorship, as well as the support of cultural identity and diversity. The current findings support the notion that adversity shapes Black women into leaders with an emphasis on higher education leadership.


BMJ Open ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. e032232 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lulu Alwazzan ◽  
Samiah S Al-Angari

ObjectivesBecause culture reflects leadership, the making of diverse and inclusive medical schools begins with diversity among leaders. The inclusion of women leaders remains elusive, warranting a systematic exploration of scholarship in this area. We ask: (1) What is the extent of women’s leadership in academic medicine? (2) What factors influence women’s leadership? (3) What is the impact of leadership development programmes?DesignSystematic review.Data sourcesA systematic search of six online databases (OvidMEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL, PsycINFO, the Cochrane Library and ERIC) from the earliest date available to April 2018 was conducted. Bridging searches were conducted from April 2018 until October 2019.Eligibility criteria(1) Peer-reviewed; (2) English; (3) Quantitative studies (prospective and retrospective cohort, cross-sectional and preintervention/postintervention); evaluating (4) The extent of women’s leadership at departmental, college and graduate programme levels; (5) Factors influencing women’s leadership; (6) Leadership development programmes. Quantitative studies that explored women’s leadership in journal editorial boards and professional societies and qualitative study designs were excluded.Data extraction and synthesisTwo reviewers screened retrieved data of abstracts and full-texts for eligibility, assessment and extracted study-level data independently. The included studies were objectively appraised using the Medical Education Research Quality Study Instrument with an inter-rater reliability of (κ=0.93).ResultsOf 4024 records retrieved, 40 studies met the inclusion criteria. The extent of women’s leadership was determined through gender distribution of leadership positions. Women’s leadership emergence was hindered by institutional requirements such as research productivity and educational credentials, while women’s enactment of leadership was hindered by lack of policy implementation. Leadership development programmes had a positive influence on women’s individual enactment of leadership and on medical schools’ cultures.ConclusionsScholarship on women’s leadership inadvertently produced institute-centric rather than women-centric research. More robust contextualised scholarship is needed to provide practical-recommendations; drawing on existing conceptual frameworks and using more rigorous research methods.


BMJ Leader ◽  
2020 ◽  
pp. leader-2020-000348
Author(s):  
Peter L Cornwall ◽  
Allan Osborne

BackgroundThe lack of diversity in healthcare leadership has been reported as a risk factor for the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on black and ethnic minority healthcare staff. The medical workforce is increasingly diverse but not necessarily in its senior leadership.MethodsWe aimed to describe the characteristics of psychiatrists with board-level responsibility in Mental Health Trusts in England, comparing the current picture to that of 2016, using publicly available sources of data. We examined whether the psychiatric leaders were representative of the consultant workforce.ResultsPsychiatrists in senior leadership positions are unrepresentative of the consultant workforce, with UK and Irish graduates, and forensic psychiatrists being over-represented, and general adult psychiatrists being under-represented. There has been minimal change between 2016 and 2020, despite a 50% turnover in those holding board-level responsibility.ConclusionsIf greater diversity in psychiatric leadership is desired, stronger action needs to be taken to promote leadership development opportunities from under-represented groups.


2021 ◽  
pp. 089202062098195
Author(s):  
Oliver Seale ◽  
Patrick Fish ◽  
Birgit Schreiber

Gender equity and women’s access to senior leadership and management positions in universities are a major challenge not only in South Africa but on the African continent, too. For women to take up senior leadership roles more potently, it is essential that they not only cope with and compete in patriarchal systems but more so, are equipped to change patriarchal hegemony and shift the management discourse and culture to a pluralistic leadership culture where transformational leadership becomes the norm and praxis. This paper examines a needs analysis for leadership and professional development competencies of women in senior leadership positions in South African higher education and presents the discussion on these findings, based on the data collected from 74 participants. The conclusion reveals the participants’ enthusiasm for personal leadership development as well as their readiness for impacting their leadership contexts. These findings, in turn, shape the content development of the Women in Leadership programme, designed by Higher Education Leadership and Management under the auspices of Universities South Africa.


SAGE Open ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 215824402199181
Author(s):  
Asia Zulfqar ◽  
Martin Valcke ◽  
Uzma Quraishi ◽  
Geert Devos

Leadership development is not considered as a core component in higher education policies specifically when we examine the higher education polices of developing countries. To fill this gap, an intervention is designed to evaluate the impact of a leadership development program in academic leaders. The prime objective of this intervention was to promote awareness among university deans and heads by adopting transformational leadership in their leadership practices. An experimental research design was adopted to map the effects of a 6-week intervention and to evaluate the variations in related six transformational leadership behaviors. Up to 37 academic deans and heads from public universities were involved in this research. Content analysis was carried out to analyze the collected data. Bloom’s taxonomy was adopted as a framework for the analysis. Three lower levels of Bloom’s taxonomy were used to identify the awareness indicators. An extensive increase in awareness levels was identified in relation to all six transformational leadership behaviors, and more specifically, a prominent progress was observed at the application level. In addition to implications and limitations, directions for future research were also discussed.


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